N.B.A. Players Are Paying by the Rules

Published: December 10, 2013

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Some players have expressed skepticism about the process, questioning the motives behind issuing more and more fines. In response, an N.B.A. spokesman noted that fine money helped the league and the union make a joint $500,000 donation last month to Unicef to support typhoon relief efforts in the Philippines.

Matt Strasen/Associated Press

Mark Cuban, the Mavericks’ owner, has been fined almost $2 million since 2000.

A One-Month Box Score of Fines and Penalties

Nov. 2, 2013 00:00 AM

Andray Blatche (Nets) was fined $15,000 for making an obscene gesture during a game against the Heat.

Nov. 4, 2013 00:00 AM

Wizards Coach Randy Wittman was fined $20,000 for using profanity during a postgame news conference.

Nov. 6, 2013 00:00 AM

Caron Butler (Bucks) was fined $15,000 for making an obscene gesture during a game against the Celtics.

Nov. 7, 2013 00:00 AM

Dennis Schroder (Hawks) was suspended one game for hitting DeMarcus Cousins (Kings) in the groin during a game.

Nov. 8, 2013 00:00 AM

Vince Carter (Mavericks) was suspended one game for throwing an elbow at Steven Adams (Thunder) during a game.
Mario Chalmers (Heat) was fined $15,000 for applying his forearm to the throat of Blake Griffin (Clippers) during a game.

Nov. 11, 2013 00:00 AM

James Harden (Rockets) was fined $5,000 for his second flopping violation of the season.

Nov. 13, 2013 00:00 AM

Glen Davis (Magic) was fined an undisclosed amount for an incident in which he damaged a computer at a hotel.

Nov. 14, 2013 00:00 AM

Matt Barnes (Lakers) was fined $25,000 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner after his ejection and for using a racial slur on his Twitter account.

Nov. 24, 2013 00:00 AM

Nov. 25, 2013 00:00 AM

Andrew Bogut (Warriors) and Mo Williams (Trail Blazers) were suspended one game for their fight in a game. LaMarcus Aldridge (Blazers) was fined $45,000, and Wesley Matthews (Blazers) and Draymond Green (Warriors) were fined $20,000.

Nov. 29, 2013 00:00 AM

Nets Coach Jason Kidd was fined $50,000 for intentionally spilling a drink on the court near the end of the game, when his team was out of timeouts.

Knicks

Nets

W.N.B.A.

Liberty

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Maurice Williams, left, and Andrew Bogut were suspended.

The biggest individual contributor of fine money — and the enduring symbol of the N.B.A.’s growing disciplinary compulsion — is Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who has been fined almost $2 million since purchasing the team in 2000. (Cuban has a net worth of $2.5 billion, according to Forbes.)

Despite the money he has forfeited, Cuban praised the N.B.A. for at least becoming more transparent and consistent with its disciplinary process since his first full season as an owner, when he was fined seven times for about $500,000.

That season, Cuban was fined for “conduct unbecoming of an N.B.A. owner” after he sat on the floor next to the Mavericks’ bench. In an email this week, he said that he was trying to convey to his staff that he was “accessible and approachable.” Instead, Cuban said, a rival owner complained to the league, and he was fined $100,000.

“Today, I think discipline is less to make this owner or that owner happy and far more democratic and consistent,” Cuban said. “I know when I’m going to get fined before I do it, and I know exactly how it will play in the media in a Twitter world.”

He added, “Things have changed.”

The fines in November proved as much. The last penalty went to Jason Kidd, the coach of the Nets, who spilled a soda onto the court to manufacture a Nets timeout in a close game. It is a trick said to have a long history among savvy coaches in the game.

But an increase in cameras at arenas and the improvement of video technology in recent years meant the N.B.A. had access to the evidence in an instant.